This volume includes data on interrogative and negative constructions from 37 sign languages around the world. Presenting the results of the first-ever large cross-linguistic study on sign languages, the editor and the contributors present a mosaic of typological patterns across sign languages. In-depth studies of questions and negation in ten sign languages, from North to South America, from Europe to the Middle East and Asia, constitute the central part of the book. An introductory section sketches the theoretical and methodological scope of Sign Language Typology and provides an overview of the target structures in a wide range of diverse sign languages.

The topics addressed in the volume cover a wide range of morphological, syntactic and prosodic issues, such as non-manual expressions in questions and negation, the morphology of negative affixes and clitics, the structure of question word paradigms, and the pragmatics of clause types. In addition to sign language linguists, the volume is of interest to typologists looking for accessible information about linguistic diversity in a range of sign languages, to undergraduate and postgraduate students of sign language linguistics or deaf studies, and to a readership in general linguistics with an interest in newly developing linguistic sub-disciplines.

The volume features a subject index for easy reference as well as an appendix with the original research materials that were used for the study. The accompanying CD includes several hundred video clips from the various sign languages. Contributors include Susan Fischer (USA), Gladys Tang (Hong Kong), Rachel McKee (New Zealand), and others.

This volume is published by Ishara Press, an ethically responsible publisher in the field of sign language studies.